Genesis, a historical book?

[Vance]

True, it really is a waste of time if you are thinking you could convince someone who is deadset against being convinced on theological grounds. But it is still very much worth combatting the YEC teaching for all those reasons I posted in my "Why I Post" thread.

And, Micaiah, the Epic of Gilgamesh is both very long (too long to be posting here) and easily accessible. I am sure you can read many translations of it on the internet or in any library.

 

[herev]

True, it really is a waste of time if you are thinking you could convince someone who is deadset against being convinced on theological grounds. But it is still very much worth combatting the YEC teaching for all those reasons I posted in my "Why I Post" thread.

And, Micaiah, the Epic of Gilgamesh is both very long (too long to be posting here) and easily accessible. I am sure you can read many translations of it on the internet or in any library.

Since our friend Micaiah hasn't taken the time to define "plain" surely he won't take the time to study the Epic of Gigamesh, will he?

 

[Vance]

You know, the Epic of Gilgamesh is kind of like the Big Bang, Christians can't decide whether it helps or hinders. On the one hand, it has a VERY similar flood story (one man surviving, etc), and at first, some Christians were saying "see, look, here is independent evidence that the flood occured, they just got the details wrong!". Then others, realizing that it was written down before the Hebrew flood account was written down, began to worry that it looked as if the Hebrews (since Abraham came from Ur and the area was very influential over whole near east) might have adopted the Gilgamesh flood and rewrote it for themselves. So, then it was a bad thing, or at least something they had to work with. Both texts are from oral traditions, so the literalists can just say that Abraham brought the true version with him, and the Sumerians just remembered it badly. Or that God maintained His hand on the oral tradition until it was written down, keeping it "pure".

There is also a garden and a deceiving snake.